I admit I can hardly believe it. When I first signed on with Country Guide more than a decade ago, I used this space to ask a question that I honestly wondered about. The question? Can farmers grow their business productivity as fast as their crop yields? In fact, farmers have grown their professionalism at a fantastic pace, faster than anything we’ve seen from plant breeders or machinery engineers, impressive though our scientific and technological progress has certainly been. This matters because the decision-making power of the individual farmer is the force that drives agriculture. Who el ..read more

Canadian farmers are no strangers to change. Over the centuries, and especially over the last few decades, they have constantly adapted to changing global markets and government policies with new processes, technology and on-farm practices. Despite change being such a big part of farming, however, few farmers receive formal lessons in best practices for change management. Instead, many learn on the job. Most excel at it — but there are times when change fails. There are many reasons why change efforts fail, but the most common are rushed decisions, or decisions that aren’t strategically made ..read more

First, you could get process-minded about it. If you recognize it would pay to get serious about adding an education focus to your farm, there’s a logical way to get started. Make a list of the current skills that everyone involved in the operation has, then assess where there are knowledge gaps and training needs. There are loads of tools to help you do just that, and many of them free and online, as you can see on the Country Guide website. Or, you can take a somewhat simpler approach. Ask yourself what skills training you’d like to enrol in. Ask your family members what courses they’d like ..read more

Alberta ranchers Austin and his father Larry Ruud came up with an idea for a new product, the way any farmer faced with making things work day in and day out might, and the product that resulted is compostable baler net wrap which solves the problem of plastic twine and net wrap lasting for years and getting caught up in machines around a farm yard. To help develop and bring that product to market, the Ruuds entered into a joint agreement between their startup firm, Nature’s Net Wrap, and CNH Ventures, the investing arm of the equipment manufacturer CNH Industrial and parent company behind Ca ..read more

Change and challenge affect everyone differently. Even so, research by the American Psychological Association shows we can get better at handling life-changing and stressful situations over time. We can acquire coping skills, a.k.a. resilience. As farmers, we’ve experienced repeated setbacks and we’ve been able to explore our resilience boundaries over the last few years (COVID-19, weather, war, inflation, labour shortages, etc.). But we may still have lots of misconceptions about what it means to be resilient. “Conventional thinking assumes (resiliency) is something we find within ourselves ..read more

Sure, a positive workplace culture can make your farm a more enjoyable place to work, and who doesn’t want a few more smiles in their day? But will a better workplace culture really improve your bottom line? According to a growing body of psychological research, the answer is a clear “yes.” The new science says a positive workplace culture provides dramatic benefits not only for employers and employees but also for the business itself. For example, when employees feel recognized and appreciated, they report being four times more engaged. This is definitely a perk for your business because enga ..read more

Change can sometimes lead to a radical re-evaluation of your past and present. In mid-life, change can prompt you to imagine what your future might look like, including your career. Research shows that many people in their mid-40s grow dissatisfied with their careers. The reasons behind this mid-career “crisis” can be attributed to several factors, none of which are well understood. For example, maybe you have regrets about the past. Maybe you feel disappointed that things didn’t go according to plan or that you failed to meet some of your original goals. Maybe you even feel a little bored wit ..read more

The right farm advisor can help a business improve efficiencies, optimize performance and grow revenue. They also provide support to overcome challenges, but despite these benefits, the number of farmers using advisors has declined from 32 per cent in 2015 to 23 per cent in 2020, according to Farm Management Canada’s Dollars and Sense Study. These numbers tell their own story. We can assume that a portion of farmers working with advisors are not getting the most out of their relationship and would benefit from changing advisors — but a transition is not without challenges. “It’s a hard thing ..read more

The reasons farms diversify are as varied as the types of farms. The options are equally numerous. Maybe it’s to enhance or grow the operation or to add more income streams. Or the owners come across an opportunity too good to turn down. So, how does someone decide when to diversify and what option to choose? Diversifying the farm operation involves managing change and learning lessons through a process that will inform subsequent rounds of change. Their next change Grant Dyck and wife Colleen, who built Artel Farms near Niverville, Man., have diversified many times over the past 23 years. “W ..read more

A business plan is like a road map for your farm. You can plan your route, set a destination and track progress. But without a map or a plan, how does a farm business owner know what success looks like? Or what you’re capable of achieving? And, most importantly, how do you decide which changes to make along the way? That’s the importance of building a farm business plan — it’s a document that brings together the “why, what and how” of the business. No matter what your farm type or size, a business plan will outline not only your goals but also the key components of your farm business and how ..read more